Lost Along the Way(80)

She took the morning paper and her coffee to an armchair in the living room and curled up under a fuzzy throw blanket that was tossed on the couch. She hadn’t made it so far as the end of the first page when she heard barking outside, and moments later, a perfunctory knock before Nick and Sebastian plowed through the front door. So much for silence, she thought.

“Good morning, Cara!” Nick said, throwing a bag of bagels on the counter. One thing she particularly liked about Nick was that he never showed up to the house empty-handed, and he always arrived in a good mood. It was no wonder Meg and Steve took to him so quickly. Some people just have a way of making you happy whenever they’re around. It was too bad that this was a quality she hadn’t learned to appreciate in a man until later in life. If she had, she probably would have realized that her husband entered the room with all the alacrity of the grim reaper. She never would’ve decided to move in with him in the first place.

“Good morning. I see you brought breakfast,” Cara said as she put down the newspaper and pushed herself up from her chair. She followed Nick into the kitchen and poured him a cup of coffee. “What’s new?”

“Not too much. I was in town and thought maybe you guys could use some bagels to soak up your liquid dinner, which in retrospect was probably silly since Meg has enough muffins in the freezer to feed the entire town for months.”

“It was sweet of you to bring breakfast. Thanks so much. I’ll have one a little later.”

“Where is everyone? I was fully prepared to find you guys passed out on the couches in the den or something.”

“We may have been drunk, but we did make it to our beds last night, so that’s a win! Meg also somehow managed to drag herself to her spin class this morning, and Jane went for a walk. I think she wants to enjoy the time she has out here, you know? It’s good for her to get out. I’m just hanging out. Pretty boring morning for me!” Cara wished she’d had the energy or the stamina to go to spin with Meg again, but the truth was, she was out of shape. She made a vow to get back into working out again, but she’d do it slowly. She was almost forty. She needed to take care of her knees and didn’t want to risk getting injured. She’d go to another class with Meg while they were out here, but as much as she hated to admit it, back-to-back classes were a bit too much for her at this point.

“Ah. I forgot about Meg’s spin class. She goes to that thing religiously.”

“We all should have such aerobic coping mechanisms, right?” Cara said. “Anyway, what are you up to today? Are you heading down to the beach?”

“Actually, no. I have some new clients in town who are looking to buy a bungalow. I’m going to show them a few properties today. Fingers crossed I can get them to bid on something.”

“Oh, that sounds like fun! It must be great to see all the new houses that come on the market out here. Some of them are absolutely spectacular. It’s really fascinating, isn’t it? How different people can have such different visions for the same four-walled structure? It’s almost like a sociology experiment or something.”

“Do you want to tag along?” Nick asked. “You seem to be pretty pumped up just talking about it.”

“Why would you want me to come with you?” Cara asked.

“Why not? I’ll just tell them you’re a new broker and I’m bringing you with me to show you the ropes. It’ll be fun. Besides, it’s too nice out to sit inside all day with the newspaper. Come with me! You can practice your sociology experiment on beach houses.”

“Won’t Sebastian be jealous if I replace him as your sidekick?”

“Nah. He won’t mind if I leave him here. He loves Meg and he makes a great guard dog. He’ll keep an eye on the place until Meg or Jane gets back.”

Cara turned and eyed the affable Lab sitting in the corner with a chew toy, blissfully tossing it up in the air and catching it again and again. “What does he do, lick intruders to death?”

“He’s the strong, silent type. Like his owner.”

“I see.”

“So what do you say?”

Cara thought about it for roughly ten seconds. “I’d love to! Let me go get dressed. Make yourself a bagel.”

“Good. I need to meet them in about a half hour, so no primping. I don’t want to be late.”

Cara ran upstairs to get changed, surprised at how happy she was to pretend she was back at work.

The Stillmans seemed like a lovely couple who Cara knew right off the bat were going to drive their Realtor absolutely bonkers. They had a wish list a mile long and a budget that stretched a few inches at best in one of the priciest real estate markets in the world. Cara had dealt with this kind of buyer before, and almost always had to fight the urge to physically shake them until they understood that what they asked for simply wasn’t possible, but Nick was taking it all in stride.

Instead, he asked friendly questions, trying to figure out what kind of home would make sense for them. Mrs. Stillman mentioned that she had a labradoodle whom she adored, but who was getting on in age. Nick added a whole bunch of ranch houses to the list, pointing out how much easier it would be for their dear old dog if she didn’t have to climb stairs in her old age. Genius, Cara thought. They’d been married for ten years and had two small children, and after years of careful investing and frugal spending, they were finally ready to put a down payment on a little family vacation home. They were amenable to looking at lots of different properties, and while their budget was by no means large—so as a result, Nick’s commission wouldn’t be, either—she was impressed by how smoothly Nick handled their questions and concerns. She’d met more than a few brokers over the years who thought of themselves as gatekeepers to the town itself; if they didn’t like the prospective buyers, they all but drove them away from the property. They didn’t want to risk running into them in town, or worse, having their children become friendly and be forced to host play dates. Real estate was like politics in a way, and a good broker was a rare find. Nick was one of the best she had ever seen, and just from listening to him for a few minutes in the car, she realized how much she had to learn. This week had proved that she had a lot to learn about a lot of things.